Chapter 15
Merchantry


I wake up in the comfy bed of our room. It's been a few days since the fight with Krokorok, and not a lot has happened. Seeing Snivy already up and eating breakfast, I get out of bed.

"Good morning Mudkip!" Snivy says.

I ignore them and make my way to the table. While I'm grabbing my food, I notice that our supply is running out. And besides... "Hey Snivy, do you think we should leave the village soon? We've used up most of the money Torterra gave us for the inn, and no one here seems to know anything about Volomans or the Wildfire."

"Yeah, I was thinking the same thing, actually. I think we should ask about where the nearest town is. You saw we're also low on food right? There are plenty of berry bushes and stuff in the forest, so we can gather some more food on the way."

"Sounds good. Wanna go to Machop's house and ask?"

"Alright."

We finish our meal and head out. The village is fairly small, and we've gotten familiar with it by now, so it's a short walk from the inn to Machop's house. We knock on the door, and a moment later, we're greeted by Machamp, one of Machop's parents.

"G'morning, Snivy, Jamie. What's up? Machop's still grounded for stealing, so if you're lookin' for them..."

"No," Snivy says. "Actually, we're planning on leaving the village soon, and we wanted to know where the nearest town is."

"Yer leavin' already? I guess you do want to be explorers, after all. Well, the only other civilized place nearby is Maceria Town. It ain't too bad a place; we took Machop on a trip there once. They're a little unwelcoming to outsiders, at least compared to here, but you should be alright there. Just follow the road to the west, and you'll get there eventually. But are ya sure ya wanna leave already?"

"Yeah," I say, "we gotta find Volomans."

Machamp sighs. "Alright then. Well, at least come here and say goodbye to Machop before you go, okay? Oh, and on that note, Machop wanted me to thank you for not telling on them, even though we found out anyways."

"Alright, goodbye. And thanks for the info!"

"No problem."

We walk away from Machop's house, but before we can decide what to do next, we see something very strange; entering the village is a wagon being pulled by a Rapidash. Alongside it walks a cheery Kecleon, and trailing behind the wagon are a Throh and a Sawk, vigilantly watching the surrounding area. Most of the villagers just stand and watch, but a few approach the wagon curiously.

"Hello, hello, my lovely villagers," the Kecleon says. "I come to you bearing a wagon of merchandise! But not just any merchandise, oh no, these are rare goods from exotic lands! You won't be finding products like these around here, and certainly not at the prices I'm offering! So come one and come all to Kecleon's wondrous wagon!"

As Kecleon gives their charismatic speech, the villagers are visibly intrigued, and many go over to check out the wagon. At first, Kecleon seemed happy with the attention, but as more and more people came to look and ask about the goods, it soon became clear that no one is actually going to buy anything.

"Hey," Snivy says to me, "no one in the village had any info, but Kecleon isn't from the village!"

"Oh yeah, good idea; they might know something about the wildfire!"

We head over and wait until Kecleon finishes talking to the line of customers. While we wait, we overhear Kecleon politely ask why no one seems to be buying anything, and a villager finally explains: everyone is broke because a thief had been robbing the village. Kecleon continues to try and keep smiling, but they're obviously running out of patience.

By the time Kecleon finishes dealing with the non-customers, their smile has vanished, and they let out a defeated sigh at the villagers still looking around the wagon before noticing me and Snivy. "Hm? Oh, did you want something? There's a few cheap toys back there, if you've got a bit of spare change lying around."

"Um, actually," I say, "we were wondering if you know anything about pokemon with unusual fire powers? Like, a non-fire type using fire-type moves?"

"Seriously?! Is this just a common thing now?! Pokemon with fire powers?!" Snivy and I are surprised by Kecleon's sudden outburst. They sigh and partly regain their composure before continuing. "Yeah, I've been dealing with a thief since the last village; a Mightyena that can use fire. They've tried to steal my goods three times now, and my guards' fees are getting expensive. Even my transportation is asking for a raise. And now the only village for miles is completely broke! Ugh, it's gonna take months to recover from all this..."

"Oh," I say. "I'm sorry to hear that, but I think we might be able to take care of that thief for you."

"Oh? I was just gonna tell the local authorities. What are you offering?"

"We dealt with the last thief to come to this village, and made them stop!" Snivy proudly declares. "If you can tell us where we can find this Mightyena, we can stop them."

"Well, that's interesting. The Mightyena is probably somewhere outside the village, waiting for their next chance. If you can go out and capture them, I'd be very grateful!" Kecleon says, their charismatic demeanor returning.

"Awesome, thanks! Good luck with your merchant-ing! C'mon Mudkip, let's hurry!" Snivy turns and runs for the forest surrounding the village. I chase after them, leaving Kecleon to deal with another wave of non-customers.

"Hey, Snivy, wait a sec! Are you sure this is a good idea? I mean, Krokorok was pretty aggressive..."

"Huh? Well, we need to- hmm..." Snivy stops walking and thinks. "I think this is our best option; Mightyena has the Wildfire, so they could know something about the Wildfire or Volomans. You're right, they could attack us, but I think it's worth the risk."

"Hmm... Alright, I'm in. And I think I have a plan, too."



"Mightyena?" Snivy calls out. "Are you out there?"

"We want to talk!" I say. "We promise we aren't trying to capture you!"

We keep walking through the forest, a good distance from the village. There's only silence in response to our calls. Snivy speaks up again. "Mightyena, we know some stuff about your fire power! We might be able to help you!"

For a moment, there's just more silence, but then I hear some footsteps from behind some trees and bushes. I freeze as a Mightyena slowly walks out from behind their cover. They have a bag hanging around their neck, and a serious look on their face. "You two made a very risky decision to come here. If I had just been some violent criminal, you would be in serious danger right now."

Well that... wasn't what I expected them to say. "So you mean, you're not a violent criminal?" I ask.

"Luckily for you, no, I'm not. You shouldn't have come looking for me; this situation isn't safe for children to get involved in."

"Well, we're already involved now!" Snivy says.

"Um, I'm Jamie, and this is Snivy. Mightyena, why were you trying to steal from Kecleon's wagon? You said you aren't just some criminal, so you must have some reason for it, right?"

"That's none of your business. Like I said, you shouldn't get involved." Mightyena opens their mouth to say more, but hesitates for a moment. "You... said you knew about my fire powers. What exactly do you know?"

We tell Mightyena everything we know about the Wildfire; the fire powers, the backfiring, the spread from pokemon to pokemon, the link to the pokemon's desires, and that we're trying to go to Volomans to stop it. We leave out the part about Mew, but we briefly mention Krokorok. Mightyena seems surprised to hear about the backfire part; they must not have had that happen yet.

"Linked to desires... that makes sense. I'm sorry, but I don't know anything about this 'Wildfire' or Volomans. You should spread the word as much as you can, it sounds very dangerous. Thank you for telling me this." Mightyena turns and begins walking away.

"Wait!" Snivy calls out. "If you just keep going like this, you'll get burned like Krokorok!" Mightyena stops walking. "Please, we want to help you! Just tell us what's making you do this!"

Mightyena turns and looks back at us. They stare for a few second, then sigh and walk back, sitting down in front of us. "Fine. First of all, I'm from Maceria Town, a town near here. I have a child there, Poochyena, and they have a deadly illness. The doctors of the town didn't even recognize it, and every treatment they tried failed.

"I turned outside the town for a treatment, and at some point I developed these strange fire powers. I didn't understand at the time, but I must have met someone else with the Wildfire without realizing. Eventually, I learned more about the illness, including it's name: Praefoco Disease. Unfortunately, the medicine that cures it uses a plant that doesn't grow anywhere near here. I returned to the village to check on Poochyena and see if anyone there had learned anything, and that's I found Kecleon. I went to check if they were selling the plant I needed, and they weren't just selling the plant, but the exact medicine. For the price of 5,000 coins.

"Maceria Town isn't very big, nor very rich. Even with everyone I knew willing to help me pay for it, we couldn't get enough money. I tried my best to convince Kecleon to sell it for less, or to accept something else as payment, but they wouldn't budge no matter how much I begged, and they couldn't have cared less about Poochyena.

"We didn't have time to raise enough money, or ask others for help, as Kecleon was leaving the next morning. I made a promise that night; I would get that medicine and save Poochyena, no matter what. That's why I've been trying to steal it. But, Kecleon's guards are strong, too strong even for my new powers, so I've failed so far.

"That's why I'm doing this. Are you satisfied now?"

So it looks like the Mightyena's Wildfire is fueled by their desire to save Poochyena. We convinced Krokorok that they didn't need money, but we can't just convince Mightyena to give up on Poohyena! And we shouldn't, even if we could! I turn to Snivy. "What should we do? This is nothing like with Krokorok."

Snivy raises an eyebrow, but then smiles. "Well, obviously we help Mightyena steal the medicine!" Oh. That makes sense; Mightyena's desire to save Poochyena should disappear once Poochyena isn't in danger anymore. And honestly, after hearing that story, I don't think I'll feel bad about stealing from Kecleon.

"Oh yeah! That sounds-"

"No." We turn to face Mightyena, startled by their harsh tone. "I already told you, I won't let you get involved. It's too dangerous, and children have no place in criminal activity." Mightyena stares at us, determined to discourage our involvement.

"... What will they do to us?" Snivy asks.

"What?"

"The guards, and Kecleon. What will they do to us if they catch us trying to steal? I mean, you said it yourself; we're kids! They can't hurt us or imprison us, can they? There's no danger for us at all."

Mightyena pauses, their frown growing.

"Please Mightyena," I say, "let us help you. We... I'm going to steal the medicine for you whether you accept our help or not, so just let us work together! I want to help you save Poochyena!"

"Yeah!" says Snivy. "We're getting involved anyways! But if you're with us, we'd be less likely to get hurt, right?"

There's a long silence in the forest. I watch Mightyena's face for a clue at their thoughts. Unfortunately, I'm no good at reading pokemon's expressions yet. Finally, Mightyena lets out a sigh of defeat. "Alright, fine. But if you get hurt, it's not my responsibility."

"Yes!" Snivy cheers, leaping into the air. They turn to me and offer a high five, which I return.

"... Wait a sec," I say. "I have an idea!"

"Huh? What's up?" Snivy asks.

I start walking back to the village, and motion for Snivy and Mightyena to follow me. "Let's ask Krokorok for help!"




Thanks for reading. Comments, questions, and criticisms are encouraged.